The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Dark Obsession with You (The Bad Ending)

Salem's voice didn't leave her mouth. It remained open in front of Shub-Niggurath, the Heroes waiting for the goddess to respond.

But no matter how hard Salem tried to speak, she couldn't say the words. She couldn't bring herself to do the very thing swore to do. Slowly she turned her head, staring at her friends.

If she created a new Timeline, they would never see each other again. They would never have adventures. They'd forget her. They wouldn't have any memory of the fun she had. Yin's face fell to worry. "S... Salem...? Are you alright...?"

The goddess stared in silence. She didn't respond. She barely even heard him. Her pupils began to dilate, one growing larger than the other. And then the corners of her mouth began to twitch, shakily pulling into an uncharacteristically odd grin.

Under the weight of everything that had happened, all the horrors they faced, Salem no longer had the willpower to resist it. The straw that had broken the camel's back had been the thought of losing everything to her.

She had finally lost her mind. Salem had gone truly insane.

"I... I want to... Reset it all," she rasped. Shub-Niggurath hummed, raising an eyebrow.

"... As in create a new Timeline?"

Salem shook her head, turning to the goddess. "N... No... I want... To reset everything... To the First Timeline...!"

The Heroes stared, horror beginning to sink in. "Salem, what are you saying!?" Sasha cried out.

Shub-Niggurath nodded slowly. "... And you understand this means you will no longer be a goddess? The God of Light and the God of Darkness will be in control again, correct? And if everything is reset to the First Timeline, they will not remember what happened here-"

"Yes... Yes! That's what I want!" Salem interrupted. "I want... I want to keep going on adventures! F-forever!"

The First Vao trembled, his face beginning to redden with fury. "S-so... I-I was right...! You really are... You bitch...!"

Shub-Niggurath hummed, closing her eyes. "Then... Consider it done."

"SALEM!" The First Vao screamed. He drew his weapons and charged as the world began to crumble, the horrified men and women screaming as the world began to end, the hands of time unwinding. The First Vao threw himself at her, desperate to land the killing blow as fast as he could.

SPLRRCH!

His one eye went wide, a sharp pain burning in his chest. And when he looked down, he tasted his own blood trickling from his lip.

Salem's sword pierced through his chest. He didn't even know when she had turned around. She had moved far too quickly. He could feel his blood dripping off the blade that protruded from his back, his hands stiffening as his weapons fell from his hands.

"N... No... I-it... H-hurts...?"

He coughed, scarlet blood staining Salem's armor as she stood in front of him, towering over the First Vao's weakening body, that deranged, trembling grin growing as she cupped his cheeks in her hands, guiding him to look at her. The Goddess leaned down, her hot breath sending a shiver down his spine.

"V-Vao," she stammered. It sounded like she was holding back a giggle. "We'll... B-be together forever... W-won't we...? A-all of us... H-having a-adventures... W-won't we...?"

The First Vao wasn't afraid of very much. He never begged. But in that moment, he could feel tears trickling down his cheeks.

"N-no... P-please..."

Salem's lips twitched again, and finally it broke out.

"H-heh... Heh heh ha... Nahaha... Nahahaha...!"

Her laughter filled his ears, filled the air with its deranged, psychotic cacophony as Salem burst into a fit of hysterical, uncontrollable laughter.

"T-together... F-forever... Because I-I love you... I love you guys...!" She giggled. "A-and we'll... W-we'll never stop having adventures, Vao! The Blood! The Gods! W-we'll live through it a-all!"

The First Vao trembled, his vision beginning to darken. He knew he was dying. He could feel the Souls leaving him one by one as they were all cast back into the First Timeline. He could feel them trying to cling to his Reality for safety, helpless under the power of Shub-Niggurath. He could feel his own memory being erased. He looked back up at Salem, his body beginning to shiver. He felt... Cold.

"I... I sh... Sh-should have..." He trailed off, struggling to breathe. "... Killed you... After all... I knew b... Better, a-and I still..."

Salem leaned closer, her breath tickling his cold lips. The First Vao tried to pull away, but he wasn't strong enough anymore. Salem's lips brushed against his own, locking him in a kiss. But it lacked true passion. No, it felt dark. Obsessive. The First Vao, with tears trickling from his eye and blood trickling from his eye socket, had his last breath stolen away from him, the Lord of Grimmore finally dying in Salem's arms.

Until finally, his body faded into dust, and the world of Remnant soon became visible to Salem.